About God and His Church

CommonMisconceptionsAboutGodandChurch

“Common Misconceptions

About God and His Church”

Scripture Reading:Ac. 2:44-47

Accompanying Song:“I Love Thy Word, O Lord”

Subject: Church, God (filed under church)

Objective: To dispel common misconceptions about the Lord and His church

Location:C:\Users\Mike\Documents\My Documents\Christian Topics\Bible Study & Materials\Talks\Power Point Presentations\Topical Lessons\Christianity\CommonMisconceptionsAboutGodandChurch.docx

Introduction:

Without proper understanding of the Bible, who God is and what being a Christian means will probably be vastly misunderstood.
As stated in our first lesson, there are inherent dangers imparted upon those who have not taken the time to properly understand the Lord and what it means to be a Christian:
One may find Christianity unattractive if they simply view it as a religion. It iis nothing of the sort. It is a lifestyle that lives according to the only truth there is.
One may be drawn to Christianity if they do not understand it, thinking that it is the cure-all to every struggle and problem they will ever have believing that now that God is on their side, miracles willrain down from heaven and remove every problem from their life.
Further, one may be in danger if he/she does not understand what the Lord doth require feeling that because they got wet some years ago now they are in the Lord’s little red wagon and are simply receiving a free pull to heaven and they never need to get out of the wagon and do anything.
In fact, I have wondered of myself and others cautiously…we would do well to carefully examine ourselves. Did you ever consider that we might only think that we are Christians but are onlyu self-deceived. I am not saying one cannot know whether or not he/she is saved, but I think it is entirely possible to be unfaithful, not doing what the Lord wants you to do, to be unfaithful and fallen from grace and not even acknowledge that it is true.
(Rev. 2:5) Onehas to wonder if these churches would even know it if Jesus removed the lamp stand?
Our problem is that some people try to reinvent God for themselves…they try to reduce God to a more manageable being and reinvent Him into what they would prefer Him to be. Like an idol we try to fashion Him into our image, make Him fit our desires and serve our expectations. We expect this God we imagine to approve our own projects for our own purposes, making God somewhat of a junior partner in the matter. Of course, this is following and serving God in exact reverse!
First, let’s discuss a few common misconceptions about God Himself…

Body:

3God accepts you as you are.
Many have said this and I appreciate the sentiment they mean behind it, but only true in one sense.
Often show a passage like Jn. 3:16 or Rom. 5:8 to show that God loves us even while we were sinners - true.
Question is,how did He love us? Did he love us because we were worthy of His love, or did He demonstrate His love for us by making a way for us to become who we needed to be?
God does not love you as you are (a sinner). He loves you for who you can become through His Son!
True statement: God loves the sinner and hates the sin.

5A loving God would not allow/cause people harm.
(1 Pet. 4:12-13)God permits those fire darts from the wicked one to come.
The faithful apostle Paul himself suffered such things (2 Cor. 11:24-26)
Some teach a life of health and wealth if you promise to live a faithful life.
Such teaching is obviously false. Paul was far more obedient in the things he did for the Lord than what I will likely ever match and yet he suffered both health problems nor was he a wealthy man.
(1 Pet. 1:6-7) “Trial” by fire – tests us so we can know if we are truly a follower of God or not; they are “necessary”
Illust: group of women in a Bible Study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. "This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work.
She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse, that "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, how do you know when the silver is fully refined? He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."
Would a loving parent ever spank their child? Why?
Illust:What kind of child would one become if the parent never corrected them and always left it to the child to determine what they should do?
How would they ever learn manners, learn to share, play nice and to get along with others? How would they ever learn discipline or responsibility if they were never corrected when wrong?
(Heb. 12:6) Sometimes we are chastened as a child who needs punishment.
If God would not harm anyone, why Hell?
What about God’s own innocent Son?

9God wants me to be happy!
I have spoke to some people on occasion who are caught up in one sin or another.
One man was involved in an adulterous relationship. When I tried to convince him he needed to stop, his response was, “I just think God wants me to be happy.”
My response: I couldn’t agree more!
Illust:
Parent: Do you want your child to be happy? Of course every good parent wants their child to be happy.
Now, what if your child wants to abuse drugs and alcohol if it makes them happy? Do you want them to do that so they will be happy? Of course any reasonable parent would not their child addicted to harmful drugs.
Same is true of God. He wants you to be happy, just not at any cost.

a.)Sometimes we begin by asking the wrong questions. Of course God wants us to be happy, the prop[er question: what should MAKE a child of God happy?

b.)(Pr. 28:14a)

God does want you to be happy, but that means he wants being holy the thing that makes you happy!
You see man cannot accurately know or understand the God of the universe…in all His terrifying greatness…utterly awesome in wisdom…a being who transcends far beyond all human understanding. He is unknowable accept what he has revealed to us through divine revelation.
When man does what He wants to do, without ever consulting the Lord and then claims that God actually wants him to do it, he has not consulted God, but has rather neglected the awe for God that he ought to have. He has reduced God to a puppet that serves man and His purpose is to makeus happy, rather than us being the ones serving and adoring the Lord.
Now let’s dispel some common misconceptions about the church…

11Christian preachers are more spiritual than other believers.
Some, even in the church, carry this unspoken belief in their mind.
If a man has devoted his life in service to the Lord, surely he cannot struggle with the same sins as a “regular member” does, does he?
Let us examine this for a moment, I am not claiming to have it worse than anyone else, but a moment ago we spoke of firey darts of the wicked one that will be hurled at us. Illust:
Imagine for a moment that you are Satan or one of his emissaries…
Who would you rather see fall in the church if you could….
A member of the church…
…or someone that those in the world would see as a representative of the whole to embarrass the church?
I do not claim divine knowledge on this, but might it be safe to expect that the more active one is in work for the Lord, regardless of who you are, that Satan would love to destroy the reputation of one portraying themselves as a follower of Christ before others in an attempt to destroy the credibility of the gospel?
If Christian ministers were more holy than others, then why would Paul, the most prominent minister in the N.T. write what he did in 1 Tim. 1:15-16

14The church is a safe place where you can always trust everyone.
The church should be so, but unfortunately it is not.
(Jas. 5:19) Even though one may enter the church with the best of intentions, one is always prone to revert back into sin.
(2 Pet. 2:1) The dangers we face as a congregation will sometimes come from internal sources from those who are false teachers or others who are weak in the faith.
Instead of being a safe place, we ought to be extra cautious here, in spite of the good people who meet here. Because we come to expect good people among us (that being the norm), it may cause us to let our guard down, leaving us vulnerable.
Trusted a man to keep the books/treasury in a congregation I attended.
Ran off with over $7k
Would never have suspected it of him.

15No one in the church has the right to judge another in the church and no action should be taken against sin.
If the Bible is inspired of God and it clearly spells out what sin is and someone merely quotes it, who is doing the judging, man or God?
Read through Mat. 7 that says in v. 1 “do not judge”
Chapter teaches us TO JUDGE, but when you do, make certain that you judge justly and righteously
(Mat. 7:15-20) Teaches us to judge people according to what we see them do. Men will act as they are.
If no action should be taken against sin, then why warn about tolerating it from among us (1 Cor. 5:1-2, 5-7)
We must identify and acknowledge sin for what it is and then take actions against those who will not refraim from practicing it (2 Thess. 3:6)
Must be able to identify sin for our own sakes and if it is wrong for me it is wrong for you!

19Christians should never say anything that might offend someone or hurt someone else’s feelings.
If some had their druthers we would never hear anything but positive preaching.
Humility and meekness are virtues of a faithful child of God.
Many have misconceptions about what it means to be meek.
Some understand “meek” and “timid” or “weak” to be synonyms
Others view Christians as pacifists to the degree that we must do anything necessary to get along with others - not the case.
Meek, in the Gk. means “strength under control”; Means we have strength and ability but we use it in wise, godly ways.
We do not cower from conversations and situations that need to be dealt with (Eph. 4:14-15)
If we care about others we will tell them the truth in love out of concern for their soul (Prov. 27:6)

22If you are a Christian you need to locate and identify with a church that you will like.
No doubt that you should worship with the church. To fail to meet with the church = a sin (Heb. 10:25-26)
The question is, what qualifications will you place on this group?
Some activities that are fun for the kids?
A place where your friends/family go?
A place where people of your age group go?
A place where people you have things in common with meet?
A place where you like the preacher and his preaching?
A place with a big building group and a big congregation meets? (A big group means they must be doing something right, right?)
Who gets to choose the church you will attend? You? Your spouse? Why not the Lord?
World teaches us to join the church of your choice.
You ought to allow the Lord to choose the church for you. Which group meets His standards as set forth in the Bible?
Of the 7 churches, which would you choose?
Ephasus: the church that is very busy – they have works, just not the works the Lord has called them to do (2:1-7).
Pergamos, the compromising church who does not worry about upholding and defending doctrine (2:12-17)?
Thyatyra, the church that does not judge others and tolerates sin – Jezebel who promotes sexual immorality (2:18-29)? They even have a prophetess (signs and wonders to confirm that they are the true church).
Maybe Laodicea, the lukewarm church…a place where everyone can feel comfortable and content to remain in the unfaithful state that they are in.
Among the 7 churches of Asia, only Philadelphia seems to be praised by the Lord for being faithful (vs. 8-9) because (Rev. 3:8-9) they have works (v. 8).
Who wants to be part of a church where they will be held accountable for faithfulness? Will be expected to be active in the work?
Further, who wants to join a church that is involved in a bunch of turmoil w/the outside world?
Of the two churches in John’s Revelation that the Lord had nothing to say negative about, Smyrna and Philadelphia, each were warned that they would be persecuted.
Faithful Christians are promised they will be persecuted. Would you willingly join a group like that?

Many people believe that so long as we agree Jesus is Savior, we can disagree about everything else.
Doctrine beyond believing in Christ is irrelevant.
If so, why 2 Th. 3:6?
If belief in Jesus is the only thing that matters and not doctrine why (Ac. 18:25)?
Apollos knew only of the baptism of John did Aquila and Priscilla did feel the need to take Apollos aside and explain the way of God more accurately to him?
Why did they feel compelled to teach him “accurately the things concerning Jesus”?
Seems that Mk. 16:16a “He who believes and is is baptized will be saved…” makes understanding such things of utmost importance.
If doctrine not important and only belief in Christ then why did Paul emphasis personal purity (1 Thess. 4:1-8)? Paul says if I reject this, I reject God Himself!
If we are right about Jesus, can I ignore what He says about marriage (Lk. 16:18) when Paul tells us “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers… will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6:10)?
If I believe in and love Jesus, what does that mean I will do? How do I show it? (Jn. 14:15) Lip service not enough
Believing in Jesus means (1 Jn. 2:6; 2 Jn. 9)

Conclusion:

God is someone more than one we can mold and shape to our own liking. God is sovereign and has the right to determine what His creation must do and how He desires to be worshipped.
Likewise, the church is not simply whatever we imagine it to be.

Invitation:

God – sovereign
God has right to determine what He requires for us to be saved
If you have not lived up to the righteous calling by which you were called as a Christian – time to make that right is now!
If you have never become a Christian, the time to stop serving the world and start serving the Lord is now!

Michel D. MahlerPage 1 of 7